First of all I think this forum is great and I've learnt a lot from many people posting on here. I do however get lost with all the mixed advice given and I know most will say that I should speak to a GP/cardioligist etc but I would like to learn from people going through similar experiences. I am now 38 and my GP informed me 4 years back that my LDL (Bad) cholestorel is 9.2 and subscribed me to Statins and encouraged me to improve my diet immediately. I did that and found the statins introduced me to muscular pains I had never felt before, though managed to reduce my LDL cholestorel to 5.6. There was no way I could keep taking those statins, so I came off them and whilst I had a good diet I became complacent with food, though I have maintained good levels of excercise.

Just recently I got my bloods checked and I've been told my LDL is now 8.6 and due to my family history my doc has pretty much said I have no choice but to take statins. Just last week my mums younger brother now aged 52 has had a quadruple bypass as he also suffers with very high cholestorel.

Should I just accept the inevitable and live my life, or can I genuinly change the outcome of my future? Any help/support would be much appreciated. Thanks.

How do you get enough nutrients, especially protein, that way? Do you do much exercise? I struggle to eat enough to keep weight on when I do a day's gentle walking as it is and if I had to avoid most cafe/restaurant foods, then I'd be carrying so much food as to need even more to fuel carrying it...

Londinium, Thanks for the advice. I have been referred to a specialist consultant in the coming weeks to medically discuss the best way forward. Your comments has certainly helped me to at least ask the right questions as I am starting to realise how little I know. In terms of specifics, I actually don't have these answers as all I know is the levels of cholestorel. Interestingly enough though I do suffer from Ankylosing Spondylitis (Arthiritis) which I was diagnosed with at a young age. This causes inflammation in my joints but I have generally managed this quite well with excercise.

The important factor is to reduce insulin-resistance. Cholesterol levels are a symptom, not the cause.

No amount of low-fat dieting will help. You need to lower the glycaemic load of what you eat glycemicindex.com/about.php , avoid (semi-)skimmed milk and derivatives, other anomalies such as baked beans, always eat fat with only small amounts of protein, minimise fructose and/or alcohol. Eat natural fat, not processed vegetable oils.

The above give some diet approaches but if you choose to go the medication route, statins are not the only drug. The newest are the PCSK9 inhibitors. Others include absorption inhibitors like ezetimibe or the older drugs of bile acid sequestrants and niacin. The older ones have well known side effects. The newer ones may have side effects but I don't know them yet.

If your numbers and family history are that bad, have you been referred to specialist clinics? GPs are great but you sound like an extreme case.

If you get thyroid blood tests done, you will need at the very least, TSH, FT3, FT4. If your doctor fails to include those three when testing the thyroid, he/she is failing to provide an accurate overview of your thyroid function.

I don't think a death certificate would have cause of death as "very high cholesterol". I know many people with high cholesterol who died in their 80's or 90's. Were your relatives taking statins for their high cholesterol? Perhaps, the statins played a part in their passing?

Correct, it wasn't the cause of death. Both suffered with heart failure (not sure of the exact diagnosis). Leading to their death I know they had been diagnosed with high chol. Statins wise they actually decided against taking them at all, but my uncle who just two weeks back had a quadruple bypass has been on statins for 5yrs+.

Have courage and persistence... you can definitely 'change' or influence your health.. The Great Cholesterol Con is a good book, there are plenty of supplements and healthy eating (Paleo) which will make an impact.... Some people write on the forum about Lycine and Vitamin C. Also, reading about Functional Medicine can open up avenues of knowledge for yourself. It depends on which route you want to take, really. GPs are trained in prescribing pharmaceuticals that squash symptoms in until they appear elsewhere. They don't know another way. There are other ways. Arthiritis - that is often an autoimmune condition, for which there is also plenty written about how to combat with food/nutritiion/healing the gut/addressing any infections. etc. (Autoimmune Paleo Protocol for example). All the best.